This season marks Sean Stinger’s fourth season with the Sharks boys’ lacrosse team and Sebastian River has faced some difficult seasons on the field because players were inexperienced.
“When I became the head coach I knew we needed a feeder program to prepare these kids for the varsity level,” Stinger said. “I created the River Rats lacrosse program to give Sebastian kids the opportunity to play in the offseason and develop their fundamental skills and then we will teach them the x’s and o’s in high school.”
Sebastian River middle school started a lacrosse program for the first time last year. “Seventeen 8th graders evolved from the middle school team and now they will be playing as 9th graders at the high school,” Stanger said. “The offseason program with the River Rats will help Sebastian area kids gain experience for the varsity level.”
The most important thing to Stinger is that the community has recognized the importance of Sebastian lacrosse and has embraced it.
”The lacrosse culture was bankrupt when we got there,” Stinger said. “Now we have formed a booster club and the parents have been great. A lot of parents are involved and behind it and try to help any way they can.”
Stinger says he knows that the results won’t happen overnight but that more and more players are picking up lacrosse sticks in the Sebastian community and in time it will pay off.
“The reality is that we have a pipeline for kids coming in but it’s going to take a few years to hunker down and build this thing, “Stinger said. “A few years from now we are going to have something that we all can be proud of.”